So, Why Are You Here?
by Took-Baggins
Summary: An evening poker game with our favorite military characters. Slightly AU.


A/N This fic needs a little explanation, I think. You see, originally it wasn't a fanfic. It was an assignment for my creative writing class. The thing is, the whole time I was writing it, I had the military characters from FMA in my head (I have to visualize things when I write, plus I based my characters on them a bit). So, after I finished it, I figured that I would change the names and put it up here for you guys. That's the main reason I'm claiming that this is AU. Well, that, and I've messed with one or two little details (for instance, Ed is a bit older than Feury here). 

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't feel like I like it, but I'm used to writing sappy, romantic one-shots or really depressing little things. Since I wasn't allowed to write within a genre, I just sort of closed my eyes and jumped...

Anyway, I would really appreciate any feedback you guys can think of to give me, especially since I'm basically getting graded on this. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. That little clearing they've stopped in, though, is definitely mine.

**Edit Feburary 20, 2008: some spacing issues have been addressed. Hopefully it flows better now.**

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"We'll be stopping here for the night. Keep the lights low and be quiet." Roy Mustang's voice broke out over the silent group of men, causing Kain Feury to give a start. He followed the other men as they set about picking their spots for the night, dropping their gear to mark their selected space. The night was very dark already, despite the sun having set only a few hours before. They lit two small lamps, keeping them low as ordered. The feeble light barely managed to reach the dark trees encircling them. Feury poked around the clearing, eventually finding an unoccupied spot near their commanding officer. What was it they called him? Feury had some trouble keeping track of what rank was held by which man. He knew the man next to him was a colonel or something, and he'd be fine as long as he followed orders and called him 'Sir'.

The colonel, Roy Mustang, was a quiet man. His hair and eyes were of the same inky black as the night around them, and he often wore a smirk that gave the impression each and every person under his command were merely there for his amusement. Despite this, he was a likeable man.

"Holding up, Feury?" he asked. Feury paused in digging through his pack to nod.

"Yes, sir. It wasn't too bad today."

"I hope you still feel that way three weeks from now." Mustang wore that smirk now, that one that made you feel as if he were sure of something you'd only begun to suspect. He chuckled, his attention falling away from Feury. The young man went back to digging through his pack, finally finding what he was looking for: a bar of chocolate. Aware that this was the first night of many he'd be spending outside with these people, he only took the smallest piece possible to slip into his mouth.

Behind him, at the center of their impromptu campsite, someone had produced a deck of cards and a game was quickly forming around one of the two lamps. As he no longer held Mustang's attention, Feury slowly made his way toward the group, pausing on his way to greet the second in command, Maes Hughes.

"Lovely...just absolutely perfect..." Hughes was quietly muttering to himself as he hunched low over the second lamp. Normally a social man, it seemed odd that Hughes had shied away from the group playing cards. More out of nosiness than concern, Feury crouched next to him.

"How's it going, Sir?" he asked, mentally going through the ranks he knew to find Hughes'. Lieutenant Colonel? That sounded about right, but he wasn't positive. He stuck with 'sir'. Slowly, Hughes turned to stare at Feury, a pained look in his green eyes. The thing he'd been mumbling at was a photograph, well worn and a little crinkled from time spent in his pocket. He held it up for Feury to see.

"This is my girlfriend." a very pretty young woman with reddish hair smiled out at him

from the picture. Frankie nodded in understanding. "This lady is the most perfect woman on the planet. Isn't she lovely?"

"Sure, she's great."

"I knew you'd say that! She is, she's amazing! You'd like to meet her, wouldn't you? I'd love to see her again too. My next leave is so far away, though..." Hughes' face fell a little, but he glanced at the picture again and brightened immediately.

Feury smiled. The man's adoration of his girlfriend was amusing in a way. Hearing him talk about her, he almost sounded like an obsessed fan or something. "Sir? When is your next leave?"

"Another six months."

"What? Then, didn't you just see her?"

"Yes, but that feels like so long ago. Then again, knowing my sweet angel is waiting for me, I'm sure the months will just fly by!"

"I hope they do, Sir." Hughes' gaze tore away from the photograph for a moment to rest on Feury. A thoughtful sort of look crossed the lieutenant's face.

"You're pretty stiff, aren't ya, kid?"

"Sir?"

"Can't be help, I suppose. New recruits are always like that the first year or so." the older man grinned, adjusting his glasses. "Don't be so heavy on the 'Sir' stuff, okay? You don't have to use it in every sentence."

"Yes, si-uh...right. I'll keep that in mind." Feury nodded, feeling a brush of heat rise in his face. He was acting the obvious newbie in the group. It was probably better that Hughes be the one to point it out to him. The other subordinates would have probably heckled him about it to no end if he kept it up.

"Good. Now go enjoy yourself for a while. One of these days we won't be able to sit around in the open like this." Hughes shooed him away, happily leaning over the lamp and his photograph again. Feury crossed the few yards of darkness that remained between himself and the card game. The rest of the little group, four men, were seated in a circle around the dim lamp.

"Four kings!"

"What? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope, see for yourself." Heymans Breda, stocky older man, laughed and lay down his hand, seeming very pleased with the glares his comrades sent him. He pulled the small pile of bills and coins toward him as Feury settled between two of the other men.

On one side of him sat Edward Elric, a blond haired man just a few years older than himself, and the second youngest of the group. To the other side, Feury's right, a lean, pale man named Jean Havoc was shuffling a deck of card. They made their bets before he dealt, Feury himself putting down five dollars.

A rather imposing hulk of a man next to Breda eyed the contribution Feury had made to the pool. "Is that all you're betting?"

"Leave the kid alone, Armstrong. He'll lose a lot more than that before the night's over." Elric said, allowing a wink to flicker in Feury's direction. The large man, Alex Armstrong, shrugged and picked up the cards Havoc sent fluttering into his reach. "Dammit, Havoc, you're showing the cards just throwing them around like that."

"Better pay attention, then! Unless you'd rather deal?" Havoc asked, grinning as he held the deck out to Elric. The blond huffed a little, picking through his cards. Feury tried to concentrate on his own and shifted them around in his hands.

An ace...jack...seven...eight...four...

He gave up the jack and the four, getting a six and another eight. What did that make? A small straight? He'd never been particularly skilled at these types of games, nor was he much of a bluffer. With a dissatisfied grunt, he folded.

Another hand was dealt, and it resulted in Feury folding again. By the fifth hand, he was beginning to think that Elric had been right. The more he lost, the more his interest in the game began to waver. His eyes wandered over the faces of the other men, noting with some interest the seemingly wide range of their ages. From the young Elric, to the apparently much older Armstrong, there was likely to be a thirty year gap.

"So..." Feury decided to stray from the dull "how much are you betting?" talk the group had fallen into. "How long have you guys been doing this?"

Breda looked up from his cards, his face going a little blank. "Playing poker?"

"Sorry. I meant how long have you been in the military?"

"Fifteen years," Breda muttered, turning back to his cards.

"Seventeen," was Armstrong's response.

"Nine," Havoc said without bothering to look up.

"And I've been here about..." Elric thought for a moment before he gave a small shrug. "Four...maybe five years. Stuff like that kind of runs together for me."

"So, you guys must like it, right? To keep coming back?"

"What's not to like? They feed us, don't they?"

"There's more to life than food, Breda," Havoc chuckled, tossing down his cards.

"Not _much_ more. But a scrawny guy like you wouldn't know about that, huh?"

"I, for one, enjoy the service. It's much more exciting than the civilian life." Armstrong sounded almost proud as he spoke. He pulled the deck of cards towards himself, and began to shuffle them. "Why, if it weren't for my time in the military, I wouldn't have seen half the things I have."

"Speak for yourself!" Elric elbowed Feury lightly, his young face falling with feigned boredom. "All I've seen is dirt, dirt, and more dirt. Maybe a tree here, some shrubbery over there..." his arms waved lazily, as if he were gesturing all around them. "I figure it all looks the same after a while."

"Surely you must have been someplace that interested you?" Armstrong had apparently not noticed Elric's less-than-serious attitude, as he questioned the young man looking slightly surprised. Elric couldn't help smiling a little as he shrugged.

"Nope, sorry. Like I said, after a while it all sort of blurs together. I don't really care for most of it." Armstrong sat staring at him, the partially shuffled deck in his hands forgotten. They laughed lightly at his startled face.

"So, really," Feury began, turning to Elric. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm..."

"They're all here to annoy me and make my life miserable." the entire group jumped, turning toward the voice. Mustang had joined Hughes next to the other lamp and they had apparently been listening in on the conversation of their men.

"But you love us anyway." Havoc laughed.

"No, I hate you all."

"Aw, Colonel. That's hurts!" Elric, done pretending to be serious, pulled an injured frown. His whole body seemed to wilt; it was very convincing. At least, it would have been if everyone hadn't known better.

"Nice try, Elric." Hughes grinned in the lamplight. His photograph was tucked safely into his shirt pocket. Laughing, he smacked Mustang's arm to get his attention and they fell to talking.

"I'm just here." Elric said, once they'd realized that the other two men were finished speaking to them. "I joined up because I wanted something to do after college. You know, other than some crappy job."

"I see." Feury nodded, recognizing Elric's reasons as being similar to his own. He turned to the others, who were preparing for another round of poker. "What about you guys?"

"I'm here just because it's a job." Havoc said with a shrug. He answered for the others as well. "Breda likes getting three squares, and I think Armstrong just likes running around in the woods."

"Indeed I do." the large man grinned.

"That's pretty much it, Feury. We're not really complex guys."

Feury fell silent, thinking about the other men around him. Seeing as they were such a small group, eventually he would get to know these men fairly well. He thought it would be good to try to understand why they were all there. As Havoc had said, it was for simple reasons. Elric noticed the young man's silence, and he frowned at Feury's thoughtful face.

"Man, lighten up, Feury." Elric said, reaching out to shake his shoulder a little.

"Oh...sorry. I was just thinking." Elric stared at him, studying his face.

"You're just full of questions, aren't you? So, you gonna tell us why _you're_ here or just leave us hangin'?" Feury was tempted to shrug off the question, that is, until he realized that all four of the other men were staring at him expectantly. Their faces held a fair amount of interest.

"Well..." he thought agin, trying to decide what to say. He wasn't really any different than they were, and there wasn't much to tell. "I didn't really know what else to do. I tried going to college, but I've never been one for studying, so it didn't really work out. I didn't want to end up in some job I'd never get out of, so I enlisted. It seemed the best choice to make at the time...I just hope it was the right one."

"Kid..." Havoc began to pack up the cards, deciding that they were finished for the night. "Don't go second guessing yourself like that. Things will be tougher than this down the road, but it's not all bad. You won't regret joining up."

Feury didn't answer him. Silently, the five of them began to move toward where they had left their packs. Breda was stopped as he passed Mustang and Hughes.

"First watch, Breda. Two hours."

"Yes, sir."

They quickly settled down as the lamps were darkened and the night closed in on them again. It was a warm, clear night, so no one bothered putting up a shelter. Feury propped himself against his pack, one arm pinned comfortably behind his head. Vaguely, he saw the Colonel settling against his own pack.

"He's right." the officer said, fidgeting around a little until he found a comfortable position. "Havoc, I mean. You get used to stuff like this. One of these days you might actually begin to enjoy it."

"Do you enjoy it, sir?" Mustang seemed to think for a moment before he answered.

"Sure. On quiet nights like this, when we only post a watch because we're required to. I do like it. It's good to get out and sleep on the ground once in a while." Feury grinned. Sleeping on the ground didn't sound like a good time, in his opinion, but maybe it was something he'd get used to. Across the clearing, the hushed voices of Breda and Hughes drifted over the sprawled forms of the little group, their words unintelligible. The tones, however, were clear and Feury's grin only widened as he thought of Hughes showing off his photograph.


End file.
